Business & Money | Sunday 15 September, 2019 4:00 pm |

The fifth edition of Middle East Stone, the premier event for natural stone, marble, granite, design and technology in North Africa and the Middle East, will return to the Dubai World Trade Centre from 25 to 28 November. This year for the first time ever, Middle East Stone will run alongside The Big 5, the region’s largest construction event.

The co-located events will gather in Dubai 360-degree solutions for the entire construction industry. They will combine the benefits of dedicated exhibitions with a comprehensive platform able to attract over 68,000 visitors from more than 130 countries for four days of face-to-face business meetings.

Middle East Stone will provide full range of products and solutions from the stone, marble and granite world for interior designers, interior and landscape architects, façade consultants, fit out contractors, real estate developers, installers and distributors among others.

Yan Wang, Event Director at dmg events, said: 

“Middle East Stone returns in the backdrop of over USD 3.7 trillion planned and un-awarded projects in the MENA region, which is therefore an unmissable market for the global natural stone industry.”

According to a recent report by MEED Projects, 59% of all upcoming construction projects are for mixed used buildings, followed by infrastructure (21%), apartments, houses and villas (7%), airport, port and rail terminals (6%), hotels and resorts, hospitals and clinics, government facilities, and offices.

“The GCC region in particular boasts almost USD 1.5 trillion worth of planned projects in the construction sector only. Upcoming developments like the USD 10 billion Red Sea Tourism Project in Saudi Arabia, or the multi-billion Dubai Harbour and EMAAR Beachfront mixed-use developments in the UAE are just some examples of the massive opportunities the region currently offers to local and international stone players,” Wang added.

This year, several world leading brands will be exhibiting at Middle East Stone for the first time ever. Some of the biggest names in the industry like the Italian Red Granite, or the Greek Akrolithos will join the event alongside a number of returning exhibitors from around the globe. These include the Norwegian Lundhs, the UAE based Classic Marble and Quartzform, the Portuguese Telmo, and the Turkish Adalya, Oguz Mermer, Onur Mermer, and Naturelmar, among many others.

From Brazil, ABIROCHAS, the National Association of Granite and Marble producers, will gather some of South America’s leading companies, while Greece has announced its largest country pavilion since the show was launched in 2015.

Italy will also have a massive presence at the event, with over 25 top brands. According to Flavio Marabelli, Honoary President, Institutional Relations of Confindustria Marmomacchine, the association coordinating the Italian pavilion at Middle East Stone, the event will host “a Stone Italia area devoted to the finest stone products and advanced Made in Italy stone technology that will feature exclusive, high-impact decor for the optimal presentation of the Italian Stone Experience offer.” 

CPD-certified Stone Design Seminars will run alongside the exhibition unveil the latest industry trends and best practices throughout the four days of the show.  The Natural Stone Institute (NSI) will be taking part in the education agenda with stone masters Charles Muehlbauer, NSI Technical Director, Mohamed Kader, Business Development at Egymar International, and Daniel Wood, Stone Material Consultant. These will be delivering masterclasses on a variety of industry topics, spanning from best practices and techniques in stone exterior wall cladding, to understanding ASTM Standards & stone testing for projects, and International Standards for importing and exporting natural stone.  

Middle East Stone is organised by dmg events. To know more about the event (25 - 28 November, Dubai World Trade Centre) visit www.middleeaststone.com.